Gayety

Are Dick Pics the New Selfie?

We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore. Since I can remember, there was always an “image” to strive for. As a child, that image was “manliness”; as a teenager, that image was “cool” (whatever it was at the moment); now, as a gay adult, that image is “sexy.” Whatever or wherever I am, if the world doesn’t think I’m sexy, chances are I won’t think I’m sexy.

It’s an epidemic in gay culture today, and has been for years. In an age where social media defines our image, it was a matter of time before it began to define how fuckable we are, too.

Millennials are “Generation Dick Pic”

A friend of mine once said, “You look at any gay man’s phone under the age of 35, and you’ll find nude pics.” I’ll be honest … I have plenty tucked away in my phone for a rainy day, but rarely do I use them as a calling card — or so I tell myself.

Hookup apps like Grindr made the dick pic a staple in millennial culture. If you ask me, millennials are “Generation Dick Pic,” swiping, sharing and snapping away our junk to prove we’re sexy. It’s not enough for someone to judge your sex appeal by the way we carry ourselves in real life. They need evidence, proof, before they give us a chance to show it.

Pictures have become a personal portfolio for the world to assess our fuckability. We can’t settle for one. We want more — different poses, different angles, different filters. If we aren’t impressive enough, someone else is.

We want to see all of each other, and we like sound effects, texture and video, too. We want what we want when we want it. This adds more pressure to maintain our socially constructed “image.”

It’s no secret gay guys think about sex all the time (I’m thinking about it right now). We’re men and that’s to be expected, but because of our drive something interesting happens. While we’re thinking about it, we subliminally shape the perspective of who’s dick is good enough for us, and that’s when dick pics become crucial.

Men are stimulated visually. Look at any male species in nature — we rely on showmanship. Who has the bigger tail? Who has the brighter feathers? The biggest bite? The strongest hunting skills? We judge based on what we offer physically and visually. If you think about it, apps have become our way of proving our value to the man (or person) we want to have sex with.

We’re just like all other animals in nature, except we have a camera. But unlike other animals, we have access to any human we want. We don’t stalk around the pride land, hoping to find another person we can show off to. We’re all on our phones, which means there is competition, and we have to up our game. Constantly.

Dick pics have become an art, like a selfie. I can’t tell you how many “dickcassos” I’ve seen on the Internet lately — some from my friends who brag about the boys they had the night before. I know gay guys who show their dick pics to each other, for comparison of course. Is this real life?

No one is modest about dick pics anymore. They’ve become trivial, which is quite the change from ten years ago when they felt dangerous. Are they becoming the new selfie?

I’ll tell you one thing. If we can teach our dicks to smile and pout their lips, then yes, dick pics could dethrone the selfie. For now, I still choose to remain modest.